A PRISON officer was grilled by a Cheshire coroner who wanted to know why a teenage girl with suicidal tendencies was isolated in a cell on her own - the day before she died of a drugs overdose.

An inquest into the death of Sarah Campbell, 18, from Hampton, near Malpas, also heard there was mix-up over calling an ambulance for the teenager, who had just started a jail term at Styal Prison but died in Manchester's Wythenshawe Hospital on her second day.

The inquest jury at Warrington heard the teenager had asked to be placed alone fearing reprisals from her co-accused after they were both found guilty of manslaughter in January 2003.

But coroner Nicholas Rheinberg wanted to know why Keith Hills, a senior officer with the prison service, made the decision to isolate her without reference to a form which accompanied prisoners who self-harmed.

He said: 'You were looking to the best interests of Sarah, acceding to what she was asking for, but it seems to me the essential ingredient that was missing was gaining full knowledge of Sarah, in particular her potential for self-harm.'

Mr Hills said the information was not available to him at the time.

Campbell, a heroin addict, had just been sentenced to three years and Kim Woolley to four-and-a-half years after they mugged Amrit Bhandari, 72, from Sealand, outside Chester's Odeon cinema triggering a fatal heart attack. Both were sent to Styal women's prison.

Explaining the reason for putting the prisoner in the segregation unit, Mr Hills said: 'When I spoke to Sarah she was very frightened and tearful. She said she was scared of the other prisoners. She mentioned one particular girl, Miss Woolley, and reprisals. She said Miss Woolley had lots of friends on the wing.'

Mr Hills asked Miss Campbell for a statement to back up his decision to place her on the segregation unit and gained the endorsement for his recommendation from one of the governors.

In the statement Sarah said she had been threatened by Woolley and her friends while on remand, during exercise and visits.

Richard Hermer, counsel for Sarah's mother Pauline, said prison policy was that people who were at risk of self-harm or suicide should only be put on segregation in exceptional circumstances because it was a 'more austere and isolating environment'.

The inquest heard how on the afternoon after Miss Campbell started her jail term she was found to be ill in her cell as staff went around to dispense medication.

'Sarah was standing in front of the door. She didn't look too steady,' said Mr Hills.

'I remember hearing Nurse Webb say, 'If Sarah has taken what she says she has taken, there could be a potential problem' or she could have to go to hospital.'

Nurse Webb went to collect equipment to measure Miss Campbell's blood pressure and arrangements were set in motion in case the prisoner needed an escort to accompany her to hospital.

The coroner said having decided Miss Campbell needed hospital treatment there was confusion over the calling of an ambulance.

'It seems you assumed Nurse Webb had called the ambulance,' said the coroner. Mr Hills said the procedure for such circumstances had since been reviewed.